A major-like field is at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, this week for The Genesis Invitational. All but one of the top 12 golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings are in attendance as Adam Scott tries to defend his 2020 title. Below, we look at the 2021 Genesis Invitational odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions to win.
Tournament host Tiger Woods will be on the grounds but not participating this week following a back procedure.
2021 Genesis Invitational picks – Favorite
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 12:52 p.m. ET.
Brooks Koepka (+2200)
Koepka took last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am off after returning to the winner’s circle at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. That victory was against a weaker field, but the four-time major champion has fared best in bigger events for his career.
Koepka ranked second among those to make the cut in Phoenix in both Strokes Gained: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green for the week. He doesn’t have a great history at Riviera with a missed cut in 2017 and T-43 finish last year, but he comes in with better form than he did last year.
The odds are far too high for the former world No. 1 who moved back to No. 80 in the Golfweek rankings with his victory two weeks ago.
Place your legal, online 2021 Genesis Invitational bets in CO, IA, IN, MI, NJ, PA, TN, VA and WV at BetMGM. Risk-free first bet! Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!
2021 Genesis Invitational picks – Contender
Marc Leishman (+6600)
Leishman’s 36 career rounds played at Riviera are more than all but 15 golfers in this week’s field, and he has averaged 0.96 strokes gained on the field per round. He tied for fifth in 2016 and for fourth in 2019.
He tied for 43rd last year after taking two weeks off following his victory at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open. Leishman tied for 18th at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open and will look to continue a trend of strong play in the early portion of the calendar schedule that has emerged over the past couple of years.
Leishman’s averaging 0.62 SG: Approach through 21 measured rounds on the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, and he had a strong putting performance at the Farmers.
Play our new free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
2021 Genesis Invitational picks – Long shot
Brendon Todd (+12500)
Todd has made five straight cuts dating back to the fall swing but with no finish better than his T-13 in a smaller field at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. His two top-10 finishes in 2020 were both T-8s at the BMW Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Riviera’s emphasis on the short game will play to Todd’s strengths. He has 16 career rounds played at this venue, and he’s averaging 1.23 SG: Putting through 27 measured rounds this season.
Get some action on the 2021 Genesis Invitational by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Golfweek:
- Lynch: Spieth’s struggles hold a lesson his fellow pros should pay attention to
- Berger ends AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in grand style for fourth PGA Tour win
Follow Esten McLaren on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1364]